[Any]a. Except as provided in subsection b. of this section, any person who
may become aware of any death by criminal violence or by accident or suicide or
in any suspicious or unusual manner, shall report such death to the office of
county medical examiner, the office of State Medical Examiner, or to the police
department of the municipality in which such person died.

Any person who shall willfully
neglect or refuse to report such death, or who, without an order from the
office of county medical examiner or the office of State Medical Examiner,
shall willfully touch, remove or disturb the body of any such person, or touch,
remove or disturb the clothing upon or near such body, is a disorderly person.

b. A person is guilty of
a crime of the fourth degree for violating subsection a. of this section if the
death of a child is not reported within two hours of when the person became
aware of the death. For the purposes of this subsection, a “child” means a
person 13 years of age or younger.

(cf: P.L.1967, c.234, s.12)

2. (New section) a. A
parent, guardian, or other person with legal custody of a child who knew or
should have known of the disappearance of a child for which that parent,
guardian, or other person is responsible who fails to report the missing child
to the appropriate law enforcement agency within 24 hours shall be guilty of a
crime of the fourth degree.

b. For the purposes of this
section, a "missing child" means a person 13 years of age or younger
whose whereabouts are not currently known.

3. This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would impose penalties
for failing to report the death of a child or a missing child.

Under current law, a person who
becomes aware of a death by criminal violence, accident, or suicide is required
to report that death to the county medical examiner, the State Medical
Examiner, or the police department in the municipality where the death
occurred. A person who willfully neglects or refuses to report the
death, or who touches, removes, or disturbs the body of the dead person,
is guilty of a disorderly persons offense. A disorderly persons offense
is punishable by up to six months in prison, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

This bill would make it a
crime of the fourth degree if a person fails to report the death of a child
within two hours. Fourth degree crimes are punishable by a term of
imprisonment of up to 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

The bill also makes it a crime
of the fourth degree for a responsible parent, guardian, or other person with
legal custody of a child who knew or should have known of the disappearance of
that child to fail to report the missing child to the appropriate law enforcement
agency within 24 hours.

This bill, named “Caylee’s
Law,” is in response to the tragic case of Caylee Anthony, whose mother, Casey
Anthony, was recently found not guilty of Caylee’s murder. In that case,
Caylee Anthony was missing for 31 days before her disappearance was reported to
authorities. This bill addresses this situation by imposing penalties on
anyone who fails to promptly report a child’s death or notify authorities when his
or her child is missing.